Tropical
Highlights - May 2018
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) during May 2018 were near-average across
the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table T2).
The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +0.2°C for the Niņo 4
region, -0.1°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region, and -0.5°C for the Niņo 1+2 region (Table
T2, Fig. T5). The depth of the oceanic thermocline
(measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) was above-average across the central
and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), and the
corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-3°C above average (Fig. T17).
Also during May, both the lower-level
and upper-level winds were near-average over much of the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Figs. T20, T21). Meanwhile, convection
was suppressed across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and slightly enhanced
over Indonesia (Figs. T25, E3).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect ENSO-neutral
conditions.
For the latest status of the ENSO
cycle see the ENSO Diagnostic Discussion at:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/index.html
www.nws.noaa.gov
